Usually one can get some sense from a news article who is full of it and who has a legitimate point. But this Oregonian article about the economic wreckage caused by the Bank of Clark County failure leaves me scratching my head about what the truth actually might be.

While the U.S. Treasury funnels billions to Wall Street in the name of economic stimulus, its sister agency, the FDIC, is forcing some solid, local businesses into a damaging limbo.

Since taking over the failed Bank of Clark County in January, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has frozen borrowers’ lines of credit and declared active loans in default, demanding immediate repayment. And in some cases, it has denied borrowers access to thousands of dollars of their own money locked in Bank of Clark County accounts, former customers claim.

But the FDIC insists it is flexible and responsive:

FDIC officials were vehement that they are sympathetic to the plight of the borrowers and highly flexible to their needs.

“If the loans are performing, the terms and conditions of those loans remain intact,” said Ron Bieker, deputy director of the FDIC’s department of resolutions and receivership. The FDIC will happily extend a line of credit, he said, as long as a borrower qualifies and provides updated financials and an appraisal of their collateral.

“We’re very sensitive to these issues,” he said.

It does sound like some business owners may have been caught in a nightmare if they weren’t fortunate enough to have been tipped off about troubles at the bank, as many well-connected bidness guys and gals were. Their frustration is certainly understandable, although nobody seems to be placing much blame with the directors and management of Bank of Clark County, who were an elite group of Clark County’s best business minds.

If you read the full article, another thing worth noting is that it sounds like the credit markets are still not performing very well down in the trenches, as these businesses can’t seem to get loans for legitimate business needs. So we’ve spent trillions on the big institutions and the little folks still can’t get credit.

Long term, this sad episode points out the need for sound regulation of financial institutions. Short term, maybe a Congress-critter or two could take a look at these complaints and, if warranted, see what can be done to ease the situation. Sure, in hindsight people would have been better off not doing business with Bank of Clark County, which was basically a pet project of the developers and the local movers ‘n shakers, but honest business folks can’t really be faulted for doing business with an FDIC insured institution.

The damage to the local economy needs to be mitigated somehow. It doesn’t make sense to lose more jobs over this.

Ack.

Washington is falling behind other states when it comes to competing for aerospace business, a new study finds.

The study, conducted by Deloitte Consulting and obtained by local analyst Scott Hamilton with Leeham Co., was funded by the state of Washington.

David Groves of the Washington State Labor Council responds in an email sent out today:

As for the Deloitte “report” itself, in my cursory initial review, I already see that it uses the identical legislative talking points used by Boeing and business lobbying groups to try to lower their taxes (although I missed any mention of WA’s $3.2 billion tax break they already got). On Page 20, Deloitte’s report recommends that Washington “align workers’ compensation benefit levels (and thus cost to employers) with competing states.” The important thing to note here is the specific reference to benefits, as opposed to actual employer costs. There is a reason they — and business lobbyists in Olympia — write it this way.

The truth is that the latest objective state-by-state comparison of workers’ compensation systems — the only one of its kind that we know of — conducted by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, recently ranked Washington 38th in terms of costs (that’s 14th lowest, including D.C.) Yes, the benefits are comparatively higher, but our state-run system is considered a national model for its low-cost, high-benefit efficiency. Many of those “low labor cost” Southern states we compete with have privatized workers’ comp systems, which introduces profit into the equation and raises costs. The Oregon study found that our aerospace competitors in South Carolina (13th highest costs), Texas (17th) and North Carolina (22nd) all have MORE EXPENSIVE workers’ comp systems than Washington’s. So now Deloitte is recommending that Washington cut benefits to injured workers to make us more “competitive” and drop employer costs even more?

Meanwhile Joe Turner dubs a new subcabinet position the state “Department of Boeing.” Hey. The governor practically tripped rushing to the podium to mollify Boeing. You know, it’s fine that Boeing is at the table, and given due consideration, but the tractability by the governor is rather startling. We thought we were supporting a Democrat, when we were in fact supporting a Dreamliner of a politician.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN99jshaQbY[/youtube]

It’s pretty clear that, taken as a whole, the Democratic Party is a captive of corporate interests, which to anyone who has been paying attention the last twenty years is no surprise. The Legislators in power are products of the Clinton era and honed their survival skills on triangulation and seeking the approval of traditional media. The corporate lobbyists threaten to take away jobs, the traditional media issues harrumphs, and most of the Democrats fall in line. Rinse, repeat.

What’s amazing is the sheer tone deaf attitude leadership has for relatively modest requests regarding workplace, environmental and consumer initiatives. If we’re going to continue to worship at the neo-liberal altar, sanding a few rough edges off doesn’t seem unreasonable, unless you’re the Washington Legislature. Anything that might upset editorial boards or business groups is to be hamstrung, delayed, obfuscated and finally discarded.

They play a bunch of games in Olympia, changing the faces and who takes the blame, but if you were hoping for workplace privacy, clean power, continued voter-approved teacher pay or homeowner warranties, you can suck eggs. Our local school districts are going to be savaged, and the Big Three are expecting we will once again fall in line and beg voters to vote for regressive taxes to save K-12 and/or the sick.

This game has been going on for a while. Every year progressive legislation gets sabotaged and we get a bunch of promises and lip service. At some point the excuses no longer bear up under scrutiny.

Fine. It’s not that long until 2010, and it’s even shorter until this November. Let’s see that tax increase on the ballot and let’s see the plaintive cries about saving the wee kiddies from the horrors of overcrowded classrooms. Maybe we could have fought that fight together.

Honestly, now, I’m not so sure.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZaGks5LkkI[/youtube]

If there were meaningful truth in advertising laws, these “real people” would say “I’m a shitty, no-talent actor willing to work for hate merchants because I have no self-respect.”

On the other hand, I am a real Washington state parent successfully teaching my children that political advertising is usually deceptive, and that basic human rights are not optional. You don’t even have to be very old to see through this stuff. A storm, oh, for crying out loud.

But, please, please, please, someone comment that we must be “civil” towards the hate merchants, because if we’re not civil to the hate merchants, then we’re the haters. Because pointing out ridiculous bigotry is exactly like being Hitler and Pol Pot, you know.

(Props to AMERICAblog.)

As Goldy noted earlier this morning, a “temporary” sales tax increase of about one-third of a cent is an idea that is gaining traction in Olympia. The money would be used for health care. The problem, of course, isn’t the small increase or the laudable goal of providing health care, it’s the already ridiculously high sales tax rate we pay because of our stupid, broken tax system.

Jeff Mapes at The Oregonian also noticed the proposal and casts a hopeful eye northward on behalf of struggling Oregon retailers, speculating that a Clark County sales tax rate of 8.5% or more would cause even more residents of Southwest Washington to shop across the river.

Perhaps more relevant for us in the Portland area, the rate in Vancouver is now 8.2 cents on the dollar. So you can do the math on what you save buying one of those $1,000 flat-screen TVs in Oregon – that is, if anyone is in a mood to buy one of those things now.

Clark County has always born the brunt of Washington’s stupid, broken tax system. With no income tax, and thus no way to reciprocate with Oregon on income taxes, Oregon reaps a financial windfall from workers who live in Washington. As Clark County has grown over the years, not only do Washington and Clark County lose millions in revenue each year to “leakage,” jobs take a hit as well.

Personally, I don’t like the idea of a “millionaire-only” income tax. It will be spun as a punitive, soak-the-rich scheme. At least one rich asshole would publicly threaten to move out of the state, causing lots of middle class conservative assholes, clinging to their adolescent Ayn Rand fantasies, to screech about socialism some more. It’s just not worth it.

What I would propose is a “simple progressive income tax,” with say three basic tax rates. Those at or near the poverty line would pay little or nothing, and as income goes up, so does the percentage rate.

While most people hate taxes, what they truly despise is the complexity of the federal income tax system. One reason Steve Forbes and others got so much mileage out of a flat tax was that people loved the idea of filling out their income taxes on a postcard.

You could do the same thing with a graduated income tax, if, and this is a big if, you could somehow prevent Legislators and lobbyists from creating an endless number of deductions, tax credits and loopholes. (Yes, it would be like taking heroin from addicts, but a fellow can dream.)

Citizens should be able to just take their adjusted gross income from their federal taxes and pay a simple percentage rate. It really would fit on one page.

And then the other thing would be to somehow Constitutionally limit the maximum rate of sales tax, because the cynics of the world usually insist that if we allow an income tax, the sales tax will never go down. Solving that problem would be key.

Now that I’ve laid this out so simply, I expect policy experts to design and implement it in short order.

Outlawing speech and commenting that someone’s speech (cough*Glenn Beck*cough) is reckless, irresponsible and deplorable are two different things.

Clearly Fox Noise has never had a problem with its employees being reckless and irresponsible, so nobody with any sense gives credence to their programming. Until far more Republicans admit to themselves, if not the wider society, that Fox Noise offers nothing of value, we will have to keep pointing all this out.

When we opposed the party in power, we didn’t pick up guns and rocks, we started blogs, and since we had meaningful ideas to offer, we succeeded. Republicans should try it sometime, it’s really kind of fun! (The fun part is offering meaningful ideas. Anyone can start a blog and uncritically ape right-wing talking points. Which is why to this day their blogs suck so badly.)

The Columbian in Vancouver, Wa., is facing a “debt foreclosure action” related to a loan it obtained to help finance its move to a new building. Unfortunately for the newspaper, and unfortunately for reporters and others who have been laid off, it has since moved back to its former building and is facing legal action by Bank of America.

But The Columbian has no plans to cease operations. From its business section:

(Publisher Scott) Campbell emphasized that it would be business as usual for readers, advertisers and employees of The Columbian.

“The fact is we have a huge readership — in print and online — that represents the largest aggregation of Clark County citizens available,” he said. “Our products are very valuable to businesses that are trying to reach consumers in an increasingly overloaded and confusing media environment. The economics of the (newspaper) business are changing, but there is a clear path to a sustainable long-term business model.”

Campbell said the publishing company’s strong preference is to resolve the debt issue, but he described the agreement process as complicated for both the bank and the newspaper.

Meanwhile, the new building at 415 W. Sixth St. continues to be marketed for both lease and/or purchase. Two of its six floors are leased.

So here we have a newspaper in financial trouble over a bad real estate decision, and it’s being sued by Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide and Merrill Lynch. If things run true to form we can expect that taxpayers will be called upon one way or another. We know newspaper owners in this state have asked for a tax break, and there has been noise about the City of Vancouver purchasing the new Columbian building for city offices.

On the optimistic side, it is true that The Columbian benefits from a unique media landscape, being the only traditional media outlet of any consequence in Clark County. Historically Portland media has more or less ignored non-heinous news north of the river, and Clark County long ago lost its lone AM radio station to robot-controlled oldies programming. Unlike a lot of metro areas that consider themselves one place, the Columbia River is still a magical barrier when it comes to the flow of information.

I have no earthly idea how long Campbell can ride out the Great Recession, and nobody knows for certain when the economy will truly turn the corner. If Campbell has enough wealth to do so, it looks like he will wait it out.

But as national job figures continue to appear dismal, it’s hard to imagine a big uptick in advertising dollars for newspapers anytime soon.

Talk about a marriage of convenience. Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, has teamed up with Portland opponents of the CRC project that would replace the aging Interstate Bridge spans between Vancouver and Portland. Benton showed up at a rally held by bridge foes yesterday in Portland.

State Sen. Don Benton, a southwest Washington Republican, urged the crowd to hold elected officials accountable for their views on the project.

“We need to hear loud and clear: If you don’t stop this boondoggle we will replace you,” Benton said.

Benton left out his often acerbic criticism of light rail and Portland-area urban growth policies. After his speech, Benton said he would prefer a highway ring around the Portland-Vancouver area, perhaps widening I-5 in North Portland and a third Columbia River bridge to relieve congestion on the I-5 bridge.

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Coalition for a Livable Future, 1000 Friends of Oregon and Smarterbridge.org were among the organizers and presenters at the event.

These Portland groups have relentlessly attacked the CRC project by yammering endlessly about a “12-lane bridge,” virtually ignoring the fact a new bridge would also (finally) get light rail across the river and yield a vastly improved bicycle facility. Now they’re teaming up with a far-right Republican who wants to build a third bridge and a loop highway around Portland. Which tells you all you need to know about the intellectual honesty of these Portland groups.

I always thought maybe I was being too harsh on these Portland “environmentalists,” but now I’m pretty convinced they are just banging their particular tribal drum. Portland good, Vancouver, bad. There are legitimate reasons to keep discussing the new bridge, as it stands to be one of the most important investments this region will make in our lifetimes, but anyone who has taken a cursory glance at the project knows half of those 12 lanes would be used for “mixing” traffic in a short stretch of I-5 before and after the bridge.

If these Portland groups want to team up with a guy like Benton, nobody in Washington state progressive circles should really take them very seriously. If they were serious they would present their arguments in an intellectually honest manner instead of focusing on a distorted messaging campaign and sideshow tricks.

I would like to alert my fan (singular) that I will not be posting for a while due to a long-scheduled vacation. I’m going to go research my cultural heritage at the John Brown Museum and Cabin, in hopes of developing a line of John Brown license plate holders and car antenna flags.

I’m also envisioning some silver on black John Brown mudflaps. I really don’t understand why the accessory options are limited to the Confederate side. This could be an entirely new market.

Nothing says “silly” like dismissing the concerns of regular folks.

SIX Democratic legislators have introduced a bill to stop Boeing from threatening to move out of Washington. That’s right: threatening to move. Such is a silly end to a silly story.

Um, I think those six were trying to make a larger point. But I wager the editorial writers know that.

These editorial keepers of the gate, freshly content with their re-installation of Dave Reichert, probably don’t like how this labor bill issue actually became a big story in the first place. As they admit in their editorial, the newspaper can’t possibly abide a law that keeps corporations from forcing workers to attend anti-union pep rallies against their will. So to them, anyone who cares about the issue is silly.

Have you ever noticed that anyone or anything who isn’t approved by The Seattle Times winds up being portrayed as not serious? And the legacy media wonders why people have it in for them. After nearly four decades of class warfare waged against the earning power of regular citizens, a key worker’s rights issue is demoted to a mocking editorial.

Nothing the Seattle Times editorial board (or most editorial boards, frankly) does comes as much of a surprise, especially when it comes to labor issues. Basically these editorial writers are a sort of mini-derivatives trader of the written word, whose currency is not phony-baloney financial products but the equally phony and intellectually dishonest job of defending concentrated and corrupt economic power while trying to appear compassionate, thoughtful and pro-democracy. It’s getting hard and harder to do without reality smacking them in the face, though.

These derivative-editorialists also must make sure only the “right” kind of people and ideas are allowed into the sandbox of democracy, because after all it’s their sandbox. Only certain types of candidates are truly allowed, and while the will of the people must be respected, it need only be respected to a point, or more accurately, along a certain spectrum of conventional thought. Should anyone question excessive militarism or promote clean energy and worker rights too loudly, they risk being sent packing without their pail and shovel.

In the sandbox, it’s okay for corporate lobbyists to put out the word to kill legislation that was likely going to pass, because the media, economic and political elites of this state deem it acceptable practice. Nothing silly about that, for certain. It’s probably the most not-silly thing I can recall while living in this state for the last 19 years, at least in terms of revealing in very stark terms who pulls what levers.

Sadly for these editorial traders in derivative thought, their market is collapsing as badly as the real derivatives market did, and predictably enough newspaper owners have asked for their own bailout in the form of a tax break.

What would be truly silly is wasting taxpayer dollars on a special tax break for newspapers that relentlessly attack and mock the democratic process itself. Given the budget situation, you’d be better off buying some extra paste and construction paper for the wee kiddies; at least first graders have some dignity and original ideas.

This is America, land of laissez-faire promise you know! If The Seattle Times and the rest truly believe in the business uber alles world view they constantly espouse, they don’t need government help. Neo-liberal philosophy itself says so. The grand results of this philosophy touch Washington state households every day in the form of decimated 401(k) statements, job losses, foreclosure notices and ruinous medical bills.

Or is it “silly” to point all that out?

Maybe if you’re a reporter for ABC Radio sitting at a White House press conference you should be prepared to ask a real question.

Ann Compton of ABC News Radio, who admitted to being surprised that Obama called on her (perhaps because he had already called on Jake Tapper, also of ABC), asked the president a question about race. She wondered whether the subject of race was raised often in the White House as he handled his daily duties and whether it affected how he was judged. Obama responded: “I think that the last 64 days has been dominated by me trying to figure out how we’re going to fix the economy, and that affects black, brown and white.”

He said he contemplated the “seering” history of racial division in the U.S. after his election and that “lasted about a day” before he got to the business of trying to save the economy, and added that he was confident that “right now the American people are judging me exactly the way I should be judged” — based on how well he was doing his job, not on his race.

WTF? She was “surprised” at being called upon? This is her freaking job. Everyone should be so lucky. She covers the White House.

I can’t help it, I’m seeing an SNL skit from this. Something like a fake Obama saying—

Why, yes, Ann, while I love my wife and girls dearly, every single day those of us who are African-American contemplate what it would have taken to marry a nice white girl like you.

My only request is that they work Tina Fey and Amy Poehler into the skit.

This sounds like a threat. What am I saying? It is a threat, and a pretty bald-faced one at that:

FedEx could cancel contracts for $10 billion in American-made planes if Congress makes it easier for unions to organize the delivery giant’s workers.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the Memphis-based company disclosed that purchases of Boeing 777s are contingent on FedEx Express’ continued coverage by the National Railway Labor Act.

The disclosure serves as a warning shot to lawmakers seeking to put FedEx Express workers under the National Labor Relations Act, a move seen as helping the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

And if WATB FedEx doesn’t get its way, along with Boeing and General Electric, they will buy planes from unionized European competitor Airbus! That makes sense, or at least it does to corporate America. This isn’t “deft” as one pinhead analyst puts it in the article, it’s extortion.

Meanwhile, FedEx competitor UPS has been unionized forever and seems to do quite well. Go figure.

Message to Congress–while you were grandstanding, nothing changed. One legal term I can’t recall hearing much, if at all, during the last six months is “anti-trust.” Maybe someone should dust those big old books full of laws ‘n stuff off and give them a read.

(Props to TPM.)

Oy.

It sounds like a proposed union organizing bill was in trouble even before a controversial e-mail killed its chances at the Legislature.

Gov. Chris Gregoire said Monday that she would have vetoed the so-called “Worker Privacy Act” anyway, because of its effect on Boeing.

So why did she, House Majority Leader Frank Chopp and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown refer the email to the state patrol if she was going to veto it? Good lord.

Gregoire had an entirely different take on things when she spoke to the state labor convention in the midst of her re-election campaign:

Gov. Chris Gregoire, speaking at the WSLC 2008 political endorsement convention in May at the Machinists 751 Hall, says: ““Like you, I believe that employees ought to be able to know they can go to work every single day, they’re not going to be intimidated, they’re not going to be coerced, they’re not going to be shoved around about whether their political rights are intruded, whether their religious rights are intruded, or their right to organize is curtailed. We’re going to make that happen in Washington State. We’re going to lead the nation in that regard.”

Yeah, okay, I get it. Politicians have to be er, flexible. But come on. Regular people call that “lying.” Sure, the economy tanked big time last fall, so if Gregoire thinks a change in circumstances justifies killing the bill, she should just say so.

To make things even more fun, the governor had the following comment at a press conference this morning. From a partial transcription by Kathy Cummings, communications director for the Washington State Labor Council:

One thing is clear, this is not Chicago this is Washington state. I don’t impugn the integrity of the authors of it at all. I simply say that it was an unfortunate email, I don’t regret my actions, Washington state is transparent and clean.

Sigh.

We seem to have a generation of Democratic politicians who have so internalized right wing frames that sometimes they can’t help themselves. I mean, I guess we all do it at times, and maybe the governor was trying to quash the entirely predictable “unions are all criminal” crap the right inevitably resorts to.

Like all human-created institutions, unions had and likely still have their share of problems, but they not only have a legal and moral right to exist, they are also a key part of our coalition, and why any Democrat would bring up “Chicago” like that is beyond me. That is definitely doing the GOP’s work for them.

People didn’t vote for more Third Way neo-liberal triangulation anyhow, they voted to change the goddamn crooked system that favors big business, the wealthy and powerful, over ordinary citizens. The abuse of concentrated economic power is the very reason why we are in a Great Recession right now.

And by clumsily calling off a vote on the Worker Privacy Act, the leaders of the Democratic Party in this state exposed themselves to quite justifiable accusations that they are kow-towing to a large corporation in a way that would make some Republicans blush. It would have been better if they had just killed the bill without the state patrol drama; at least we would know for sure where they stand.

This sorry episode is potentially quite damaging to the Democratic Party in Washington state. Right after the election you heard a lot of concern trolling from traditional media types and Republicans about how “overreaching” cost the Democrats big time in 1994. But what I distinctly remember from that terrible year was a lot of outrage from staunch Democrats, especially labor folks, about NAFTA and other trade deals killing jobs here.

As we’ve seen, the destruction over the last 14 years has been massive. That’s not an argument for protectionism, it’s an argument for making sure trade deals have certain base-line standards on the environment and labor, a demand that was virtually ignored by far too many Democrats for far too many years.

As one long-time organizer I knew put it at the time, the rank and file was just going to sit on their hands. And that’s exactly what they did, as David Sirota pointed out in a column at HuffPo in 2007.

Another troubling aspect is that a vote on the labor bill this year was stopped because it was probably going to pass. I’ll say that again. It was killed because politicians knew they should vote for it, because it’s the right thing to do for workers.

Think about that sad fact for a moment. Your votes, your volunteer time and your small donations don’t mean jack if a corporate lobbyists makes the call, because the bill won’t even see the light of day. Hell of a way to run a democracy.

Canadians are not amused, and their government is rightly demanding an apology.

In the five-minute segment broadcast last week, Gutfeld mocked the Canadian Forces, noting Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie’s recent comment that the military may need a year to recover after Canada’s mission in Afghanistan ends in 2011.

“Meaning, the Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants,” Gutfeld said.

“I didn’t even know they were in the war,” panellist and comedian Doug Benson added. “I thought that’s where you go if you don’t want to fight. Go chill in Canada.”

The panellists continued by joking about invading Canada and also poking fun at the RCMP.

Canadian soldiers, who have been fighting in Afghanistan since 2001, have spent the last four years in the country’s most violent regions. On Friday, military officials announced that four more Canadian soldiers were killed and eight others were wounded in two separate roadside bomb blasts outside Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan.

Way to keep it classy, Fox, I’m sure the families of Canadian soldiers who gave the last full measure of devotion to their country really appreciate that.

As I always state, Fox has a First Amendment right to put very nearly anything it wants on the air, but that doesn’t mean they must put complete morons on the air, although it does seem to suit their target demographic.

And what is it with right wingers who insist on denigrating our allies? Shouldn’t we insult our enemies when there are two wars going on? Osama bin Laden smells like a goat! See, it’s easy.

I honestly don’t get it. Nobody with common sense believes Fox about anything, so it’s just there to attack things the conservative tribe doesn’t like, like a bunch of middle school kids who’ve been given the keys to a cable network and been told “make fun of the nerds.” Our tribe our tribe our tribe! You’d think people would get tired of the sheer repetition and servile drum-banging.

As always, apologies to middle school students everywhere for comparing them to Fox. Most middle school students I’ve met are way better than that.

(Props to MsLibrarian’s diary at Great Orange Satan.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A6ar44Ecec[/youtube]

Can’t we all just get along.

Now.

The bankrupt holding company for Washington Mutual has sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., alleging the agency has improperly denied potentially billions of dollars in claims against WaMu’s former banking unit.

The suit, filed late Friday in federal district court in Washington, D.C., also claims the FDIC improperly sold WaMu’s banking assets to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion, rather than conducting a “straight liquidation” that could have produced more money for creditors — including the holding company.

And then (late last year.)

According to these accounts, pressure to keep lending emanated from the top, where executives profited from the swift expansion – not least, Kerry Killinger, who was WaMu’s chief executive from 1990 until he was forced out in September.

Between 2001 and 2007, Killinger received compensation of $88 million, according to the Corporate Library, a research firm. He declined to respond to a list of questions, and his spokesman said he was unavailable for an interview.

During Killinger’s tenure, WaMu pressed sales agents to pump out loans while disregarding borrowers’ incomes and assets, according to former employees. The bank set up what insiders described as a system of dubious legality that enabled real estate agents to collect fees of more than $10,000 for bringing in borrowers, sometimes making the agents more beholden to WaMu than they were to their clients.

WaMu gave mortgage brokers handsome commissions for selling the riskiest loans, which carried higher fees, bolstering profits and ultimately the compensation of the bank’s executives. WaMu pressed appraisers to provide inflated property values that made loans appear less risky, enabling Wall Street to bundle them more easily for sale to investors.

Earth to Congress, come in Congress. You got a bunch of regular people turning blue out here.

While it’s great fun to grandstand over AIG, and lord knows AIG has deservedly been a flash point, this is pretty nuts, too. The Banksters are now going after the surviving New Deal financial regulations. I honestly don’t know how much more the American public will take.

As Barry Ritholtz writes:

At what point do you just liquidate every last one of these sons of bitches — and throw their management in jail?

Everyone has the right to due process, of course. While conservatives spent decades disparaging “trial lawyers,” the corporate world is full of them and they are just fine with going to court. But justice requires that bad actors be held accountable, no matter their class or philosophy.

Justice often happens when people are charged with some kind of crime, to put it simply. So far only the most obvious individual Ponzi scheme offenders are being dealt with. The institutional corruption endemic to corporate America has received a complete pass.

The Obama administration and Congress have now been issued an historic challenge: either let the Banksters try to destroy the FDIC’s authority, or stand up on behalf of the American people. Obama has been pretty cautious to this point, but this would seem to force the issue. Either we have a government of, by and for the people, or we don’t. It’s really that simple.